Vanilla Bean Muffins with Hot Fruit Compote

These were actually failed cupcakes. (Do NOT buy Arrowhead Mills Organic Pastry Flour: it gives anything you bake with it a pronounced whole wheat flavor. If you're baking something which is supposed to taste whole-wheaty, then this stuff is fine, but if you're looking for fluffy white pastry flour, this ain't it.) Anyways, the whole wheat taste made these turn from dreamy cupcakes into passable muffins. Slathered in hot fruity goodness, though, the muffins are passable indeed.

1 vanilla bean
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups plus 5 tablespoons sugar
3 1/2 cups flour (wholewheat makes 'em muffins)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 3/4 cups room-temperature water, divided
6 large egg whites

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean.

2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle blade, cream the butter, 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the vanilla
seeds.

3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Reduce the mixer speed and take turns adding 1/3 of the dry ingredients and 1/2 of the water (7 ounces), mixing well after each addition and scraping the inside of the bowl. Begin and end with the dry ingredients.

4. Fit the mixer with the whisk attachment. In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form but do not overmix. The egg whites should look glossy. Gently fold the egg whites into the muffin batter in two or three additions, incorporating all the egg whites thoroughly.

5. Spoon the batter into muffin tins lined with paper baking cups, filling each one three-quarters full. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the centers of the muffins spring back.

Serve each muffin in a small bowl with a dab of ricotta, mascarpone or whipped cream, and a generous scoop of this:

Hot Fruit Compote

1 can peaches, drained and chopped
1 can pears, drained and chopped
1 can cherries, drained
1 can blueberries, drained
1/3 cup brown sugar

(I recommend the organic canned fruit from Whole Foods that's packed in fruit juice with no added sugar.)

Reserve and combine juice from canned fruit. Generously sprinkle brown sugar all around the bottom of a Corningware dish. Layer in the fruits, top with the rest of the brown sugar, and pour in enough of the juice to reach where the fruit meets the side of the dish. No need to cover the fruit. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 2 hours. Serve hot.